After courting and criticizing Trump from afar, Merz now set to meet U.S. leader

Japan Times

2 days ago

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has veered between boasting about common ground with U.S. President Donald Trump to bemoaning the U.S. leader's volatility and even mocking his bravado. Now, for the first time, he gets to deal with him face to face.
After nearly a month in office and following weeks of negotiations, the 69-year-old conservative will travel to Washington for his inaugural meeting with Trump on Thursday.
Past meetings between the two countries' leaders have often been formalities to reinforce their unshakable postwar partnership. This time is different.
Stiff tariffs are looming for German exporters in Trump's trade dispute with the European Union, while American support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia's invasion hangs in the balance.
A positive meeting might take some of the heat out of these issues, but the bigger risk is that tensions could boil over, setting back transatlantic ties even further.
The chancellor is preparing for anything, according to an official familiar with the discussions in the chancellery in Berlin. Scenarios range from hearty handshakes like with French President Emmanuel Macron to the public berating received by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the person who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
Merz, who hadn't served in government before starting his term on May 6, is well aware his encounter with Trump will be delicate and has sought tips from more seasoned veterans. In recent weeks, he's spoken to a number of European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finland's President Alexander Stubb.
With just weeks until the president has threatened to implement sweeping 50% tariffs on all European goods, the timing of the trip is critical.
The EU and the U.S. are headed in the "right direction' in trade talks, though new American levies on steel and aluminum imports aren't helpful if both sides want to maintain momentum, Maros Sefcovic said. "Our goal is to maintain the momentum,' the bloc's trade commissioner added Wednesday after meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris.
Ahead of the trip to Washington, Merz has been advised to let Trump do most of the talking, according to the German official. Interruptions are a no-no, but if he does, he should be prepared to soften it with praise, the person said.
The chancellor, who can be prickly and combative, has made it clear internally that he won't openly confront the U.S. president like Zelenskyy did, the person added.
After clamping down on irregular migration and vowing to ramp up defense spending, Merz has taken steps to counter views in Washington that German leadership is weak, according to Sudha David-Wilp, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund.
"He comes to the White House with less baggage,' she said. "Both leaders could write a new script together.'
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (left) looks on during a news conference in Paris on May 7. U.S. President Donald Trump (right) gestures as he arrives at the National Memorial Day Observance in Arlington, Virginia, on May 26. |
AFP-JIJI
In addition to geopolitical jeopardy, there's a lot at stake domestically. Merz's conservative bloc holds only a narrow lead in the polls over the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has been staunchly supported by Trump officials.
The anti-immigration party is watching closely and wants Merz to break with Brussels to resolve the trade dispute with Trump, which the head of the Christian Democratic Union has rejected.
"We shouldn't act as if German and EU interests are identical,' Beatrix von Storch, deputy leader of the AfD's parliamentary group, said in a video posted on social media. "We'll judge his visit on the extent he represents German interests in his discussion with Trump.'
Recently, Merz seemed to mock Trump. When asked during a conference appearance how his first phone call went, the German leader mimicked the U.S. president's voice, drawing laughter from the crowd, and said that every second or third word out of the president's mouth was "great.'
Merz, a former corporate lawyer, had long thought that he would get along with Trump because both have a business background, play golf and share a patriarchal outlook.
They also both have an aversion for Angela Merkel. Merz's grudge stems from 2002, when the former chancellor ousted him as caucus leader. Trump famously avoided a handshake with her during an Oval Office meeting in his first term.
During the campaign in early January, Merz — a longtime advocate for transatlantic relations — called Trump "very predictable' and a leader who "thinks what he says and he does what he says.'
But Merz's optimism started to shift after Vice President JD Vance accused Germany of political repression by monitoring the AfD as a potential extremist group.
His disillusionment showed on election night, when Merz said that Germany could no longer rely on the U.S. and that Europe needed to stand on its own.
But with China expanding its influence and Russia's war against Ukraine still raging, the U.S. remains an indispensable ally for Germany, and Merz will be keen to strengthen that relationship.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed optimism that Merz's meeting with Trump will lead to a common understanding on key issues.
"Ultimately, the U.S. cannot have any interest in Russia emerging victorious from its war of aggression against Ukraine' and in China benefiting from the transatlantic trade dispute, he said at an event in Berlin late Tuesday.
That puts the spotlight on Merz and how he navigates the biggest test of his chancellorship so far, but he may be able to claim victory in Washington simply by not losing.
"You can't chat with him; every encounter is a competition,' Merkel said in an interview with Spiegel magazine about her experience dealing with Trump. "The more people there were in the room, the greater his urge to be the winner.'